Lifestyle Zone

Recommened menu from Hokkaido and Tokyo

Hokkaido, the second largest island situated in the uppermost part of Japan, is a tourist destination renowned for its nature, and perfect combination of western and Japanese culture reflected in its constructions. Previously, Thai travelers regarded Hokkaido as only a dream tourist destination—quite a far-fetched one. It was quite hard for people to actually go there, since the journey required yet another domestic transit flight. Now, the journey is made easier, as THAI airway provides a direct flight heading from Bangkok to the city of Sapporo. Hokkaido has become Thais' most popular Japan's destination—a must-visit-in-a-lifetime one. It is very cold in Hokkaido, meaning there is cold enough seawater to keep sea animals (aka seafood) fresher than anywhere else. When in Hokkaido, one should definitely try tasty crabs, and palm-sized scallops. The land is fertile, and the weather is fine—making it a perfect condition for dairy farming. Dairy products and pastries here are heavenly good. Melons are sweet. Vegetables are fresh. Everything here is perfect. In Hokkaido, if one wants an affordable crab meal, they must come to Asian’s—including Thai’s—favourite, ‘Nanda’ (KAISEMBAIKINGUNANDA). The 90-minute all you can eat grill buffet starts at 3.980 Yen each. The famous buffet is located in the B2 floor of Cyber City building in Susukino, red-light district in Sapporo.

The highlights of the meal are the 3 different crabs. The first is the ‘Taraba’ or the Red Alaskan King Crab. Their legs are several feet long. The biggest one ever recorded has a 1.8-meter leg span. It is recommended that, after grilling the ‘Taraba’, one use a scissors to vertically crack open the shells—creating a gap to pull out a perfect lump of crabmeat.

Also, there is the ‘Zuwai’ crab, which is called by many other names like, ‘Matsubagani’, ‘Zuwaigani’, Queen crab and Snow crab. This orange, smooth-skinned crab is mostly found in the island. The last and most favorite one of mine is the Hairy Crab, called ‘Kegani’. It comes in a whole, ready-to-eat, boiled piece. One only needs to heat it by grilling at one’s table, before indulging in its signature delectable crab fat, or ‘Kani Miso’ within the shell. It is so good that one is never enough.

Begin the eating pleasure by picking what you want to try, and carrying them in a tray back to be grilled at your own table. Do not forget frozen gigantic Hotate. Grill it until the juice within boils. There are other menus that one should not miss, such as oysters, sea prawns, Hokke fish, Sashimi, Salmon, Saba, seasoned and barbecued beef, lamb, and chicken, and many tempura dishes. The meal is guaranteed to be pleasurable and delectable.

For those prefer fresh crab, highclass crab restaurant, Kani Honke, where countless crab menus are seved by courses, is highly recommended. The renowned restaurant came from Nagoya. It has been in business for over 50 years (since 1960), and owns 14 branches across the country—including the 2 branches in Sapporo: in Susukino and around the JR Sapporo Station.

We decided to visit the Susukino branch. Before going upstairs for the meal, we dropped by the crab ponds to have a look at how the 3 crabs look alive. Upstairs is divided into different rooms, including the Japanese style one, where people sit on the Tatami floor. We recommend the course serving 9-10 dishes. The well-known dishes are 'Kanisuki', which is a sukiyaki of the sweet and fresh ‘Zuwai’ or Snow Crab, served in heat-resistant paper pots, with sour Ponzu sauce. Another favorite of mine is the Fried King Crab with Shell, served in fried Taraba shell. The moutwatering lists go on to include seasoned crab fat or ‘Kani Miso’, Rolled Omlette stuffed with Taraba crab, and fresh crab claw sashimi. The course ends with crab boiled rice, called ‘Zousui’, which is rice boiled in crab soup, filled with egg and vegetable, accompanied with pickles, or ‘Tsukemono’.

One could also try the whole of steamed Taraba King Crab and Kegani Hairly Crab, to experience the unforgettable and delectable freshness of Japanese crabs.

Another famous tourist destination in Hokkaido is Otaru, the seaside city in the west. It was once a central port for commerce. Then, the cargo around Otaru port was transformed into a tourist attraction, 'Sakaimachi', a shopping route with many cute kiosks and shops.

Another famous tourist destination in Hokkaido is Otaru, the seaside city in the west. It was once a central port for commerce. Then, the cargo around Otaru port was transformed into a tourist attraction, 'Sakaimachi', a shopping route with many cute kiosks and shops.

Near Kitakaro's outstanding orange door, before crossing to the Otaru Orgel Museum, locates the famous cake cafe, Le TAO. Downstairs is a take-home bakery, while upstairs boasts a cute Japanese-French cafe, serving countless delicious cakes for all to choose. What impresses me most, and which I never miss whenever I visit here, is the Double Fromage, a light-but-rich cheesecake, rightfully doubled the richness with Mascapone cheese.

Otaru, as well as the whole island of Hokkaido, is well-known for its fresh seafood sushi. One can walk in any shop for as much freshness as the others. As far as sushi topic goes, it is impossible not to talk about Tokyo, the capital city of the Land of the Rising Sun. Here, there is an affordable, good quality sushi restaurant, shortly called ‘Midori Sushi’, or ‘Sushi Midori’, but its official name is ‘Umegaoka no Sushi Midori Sohonten’.

Midori Sushi main shop is at Umegaoka station, 15-minute by train away from Shinjuku. There are many other branches, but the well-known ones are the ‘Ginza’ branch, on Ginza Corridor Road, and the ‘Shibuya’ branch, 4th fl., Shibuya Mark City Building.

Classy sushi bars in Japan ususally cost you 10,000 yen, or even 20-30 thousand yen each. Midori Sushi only costs around 3,000 yen. You can eat all you want, and the total bill will not even reach ten thousand.

One will be pampered with fresh seafood and fish everyday. You can try fatty ‘Otoro’ from the belly of Bluefin Tuna, called ‘Hon Maguro’, which is normally bid for almost a million yen, in an affordable price.

For those who prefer variety, it is recommended that they order a big sushi set, served along with soup, salad, and steamed egg. The set will make you full, without costing much more than 3 thousand yen. Visit Midori sushi for an an affordable sushi meal, with the quality equal to classy bars.

Next up are 8 different patisseries and cake shops all in the same place, called the Sweets Forest, situated in Tokyo’s new stylish shopping district, called ‘Jiyugaoka’.

Its decoration resembles an autumn forest. The entrance boasts the pictures of the patisserie chefs, with captions explaining their performances. One can pick their own different preferences, and enjoy them together among the sweet pink ambience of the faux forest.

The 8 shops are such the experts at unique patisseries that one might not want to miss a thing. So, we suggest you try only the signature menus, labelled No.1 or No.2—meaning the bestsellers, of each shop, such as Strawberry Shortcake from Natu Marche, and rich Tokyo Gelato Milk Parfait from Berry Berry. It would not count if cake lovers miss the Sweets Forest when visiting Tokyo. Try it, and you will love the mild-but-rich Japanese pastries, a perfect match for Thais’ tastes.